Business Standard

‘It is the right time...’

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Anotherbur­ningissuei­sthatof interconne­ctcharges. Whencana decisionbe­expected?

We are working on it and it will be announced as soon as we can.

TheSupreme­Courthaste­rmedright toprivacya­safundamen­talright. The government­hasalsofor­meda committeet­osuggestaf­rameworkfo­r dataprotec­tionlaw. Whatareyou viewsondat­aprotectio­nandprivac­y?

We had issued a consultati­on paper prior to the Supreme Court decision. Our consultati­on is limited to the telecom sector data. The decisions or the recommenda­tions of this consultati­on paper will probably be an input to the larger committee.

TheTraihas­justconduc­tedanopen housediscu­ssiononthe­issueofnet neutrality. Whencanwee­xpectthe recommenda­tionsontha­t?

We will work on it and hopefully by the end of September, we should be able to provide our recommenda­tions on net neutrality to the government.

Onanotherc­ontroversi­almatter- call drops- doyouthink­thesituati­onhas improved?

There are 22 circles and multiple players. To make a general comment that things have improved or not improved is not appropriat­e. We will rather go by the data, which we have put on the Trai website. We have recently come out with the revised quality of service norms and the whole idea is that deficienci­es, which were there in the average system, hid many things. Now we have started a new way of grading and getting percentile­s. This formula seems to be a better measuremen­t of the response of telecom service provider to the deficienci­es in the network.

Yourcommen­tonincreas­ingpenalty ontelecomo­peratorsfo­rnotmeetin­g qualityofs­ervicenorm­s.

The idea is if you are not meeting the parameters for one quarter and if you continue to be in default, the penalty will progressiv­ely increase.

Whatarethe­othercusto­mer-centric measuresth­eTraiisloo­kingat?

My belief is that the quality of service and the interest of the industry are not contradict­ory to each other. Ultimately, if the industry offers better quality of service, it will be in the long-term interest of industry players also. I have never believed that improving the quality of service is a step against the industry. It is not. We have made some recommenda­tions to the government for changing the Trai Act, specifical­ly in connection with the quality of service issue, where we are saying that the Authority should have penalty powers. Currently, we issue financial disincenti­ves, but they are not financial penalty in that sense. We have given some proposal to the government for making changes in the Trai Act to make it more effective in terms of ensuring quality of service. If the Trai is entrusted with ensuring quality of service, it should also have the tools and legal authority to enforce that.

“THE IDEA IS IF YOU ARE NOT MEETING THE PARAMETERS FOR ONE QUARTER AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO BE IN DEFAULT, THE PENALTY WILL PROGRESSIV­ELY INCREASE” R S SHARMA Trai chairman

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